Baikal sold to China? Will Russia sell Baikal to China? Was Baikal Chinese?

"Beijing International trade company Well of the Earth intends to become a leader in the drinking water market in China by selling water from Lake Baikal. Work has already begun on the design of the water intake and production workshops. Issues with power supply and the construction of a railway line for shipping products for export to China are being resolved. An agreement with the Chinese was signed in the Republic of Buryatia. I will say right away that I am simply shocked that such an important project was signed exclusively by the leadership of Buryatia, since I am absolutely not sure that they know about it in Irkutsk, and not only know it, but also support it. But the life and work of residents of the Irkutsk region are connected with Baikal no less than the life and work of residents of Buryatia. In addition, I would like to remind you that Baikal does not even belong to individual Russian regions, but to all of Russia. Therefore, his fate must be decided by all citizens of our country,” the deputy said. He believes that the project looks all the more monstrous because recently the ecological state of the lake has raised serious concerns.

“Firstly, algae appeared in it, which pose a threat to all the inhabitants of Lake Baikal: fish, waterfowl, birds, animals... Secondly, the lake began to become shallow. The decline in water levels in the deepest lake in the world began last fall and continued until the end of April. Then the water level dropped to 455.86 meters, which is 14 cm below the minimum value established for the lake by a decree of the Russian government. The level then rose slightly but remained at low levels around 456 metres. According to the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, the water inflow into Baikal now remains at a low level and amounted to only 42-67% of the norm in the third quarter,” Pozdnyakov said.

In addition, the deputy is sure that the construction of a railway line and a transport and logistics complex will lead to the deforestation of many hectares of forest, which will also damage the ecology of the region. “I’m not even talking about the project - to build a production plant nearby plastic containers, which is harmful and dangerous production,” he added.

At the same time, Pozdnyakov emphasized that the receipt of taxes and fees from the project for the sale of Baikal water is estimated at only 13 million, not even dollars or euros, but rubles per year. “They priced the pearl of the Earth in Buryatia cheaply,” said the deputy. “We intend to sell no less than 3.5 million cubic meters of water! Baikal is a lake that is 25 million years old! How many years will it take the Chinese to scoop it up? I think that in less than a quarter of a century,” Pozdnyakov noted. At the same time, he is confident that the Buryat authorities do not think about the consequences of their project, but live according to the principle. “Enough for our lifetime!” But they won’t even be able to say, like Louis 15, that “after us there may be a flood.” Because after themselves they will leave not a flood, but a desert!” the parliamentarian explained.

Pozdnyakov also recalled that in 1996 the Committee World Heritage UNESCO, at the request of Russia, included Lake Baikal in the List of World Natural Heritage for the preservation of the unique gene pool of our planet, as the most outstanding object of the freshwater ecosystem. Its natural reservoir stores 20% of the total surface fresh water in the world. “And in some interests, which I can’t even call economic, because receiving 13 million rubles a year can hardly be called a profitable project, the authorities of Buryatia want to ruin the unique limnological miracle of the whole Earth,” the communist deputy was indignant.

The deputy said that he intends to contact UNESCO with a request regarding this project, the Federal Agency for Water Resources, and also raise the issue for discussion in the State Duma.

500,000 liters pure water Baikal will be bottled every day and exported to China. And three-kilometer pipelines will be stretched across the lake, blocking access to the lake for fishermen.

The plant will be built in a unique location on the lake - in the Slyudyansky district. Every year many rare birds fly here. This “bird crossroads,” as scientists call it, deserves protection and recognition as a natural monument. But not the construction of a plant.

“The first larks have already appeared here. And most likely in last time. They are unlikely to fly to the plant on the coast...”

The Chinese company will export Lake Baikal water to the Celestial Empire. Beijing investors hope to use Baikal water to become leaders in the Chinese drinking water market. The design capacity of the enterprise is 2 million tons of water per year. Trademark"Well of the Earth" has already been registered in Chinese and English languages in 12 countries.

Investors intend to reach the design capacity of 2 million tons of water per year by 2020. The enterprise will be built on the shore of a lake in the village of Vydrino. An agreement on the sale of Baikal water to the Chinese was concluded by Beijing entrepreneurs and the government of Buryatia back in the spring of 2015.

Just a couple of months after the world's largest freshwater lake began to shrink at record levels. The water level dropped by 40 cm compared to 2013; such a low-water period was observed for the first time in 60 years.
To a critical point, after which the energy supply, water supply and heat supply to social facilities and industrial enterprises region, in February there remained about 6 centimeters.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree “On the maximum water level in Lake Baikal in autumn-winter period 2014-2015”, according to which it is allowed to use the lake’s water resources below the established minimum value for economic and other activities. The maximum levels of Lake Baikal are limited by the requirements of the Russian government decree of March 26, 2001.

The document established the minimum permissible water level at 456 meters (Pacific mark - TO), the maximum - 457 meters (TO). Already in mid-March, the water level in Baikal was 455.95 m. By May, the water level dropped by another ten centimeters. The shallowing of the lake led to the disappearance of water in the wells of coastal villages and the drying of peat bogs. This caused numerous fires in the region in the spring and summer. The authorities of Buryatia have prepared to introduce a state of emergency.

The authorities of Buryatia claim that the withdrawal of water for sale to China in the volumes declared by investors will not harm the ecology of the region. “According to the conclusion of scientists, up to 400 million tons of water per year can be extracted without damaging the Baikal ecosystem - this amounts to 0.5% of the expenditure water balance lakes,” explained the Regional Development Fund of the Republic. The Federal Water Resources Agency has allocated a quota for the production of up to 3.5 million cubic meters of water to businessmen from China.

Work has already begun in the region on the design of water intake and production workshops. Issues with power supply and the construction of a railway line for shipping products for export to China are being resolved. The entire project is estimated at 1.6 billion rubles. About 500 people will work at the enterprise, 70% of the staff will be local residents.

About how China is taking Siberia

I have been persistently hearing for many years that China is about to seize Siberia. Fake is over 40 (!!!) years old, it dates back to the times of the USSR, and against the backdrop of stories about “six months later” entire generations have grown up, but thanks to timely updating, the fake lives on.

Let’s figure out what and how things really are, taking examples of the most widespread propaganda at the time of writing this article.

China takes first place in the world in timber supplies to the USA and the EU

The fake looks something like this:

and is, in fact, “leading”. I received circulation on the network around May 2018 (remember the dates, it will come in handy a little later).

This means that this fake drives single false “facts” into the consciousness, based on and referring to which it will be possible to later throw in something else, on a larger scale.

We are looking for the original of the theses mentioned in the text: “China has taken first place in the world in timber supplies to the USA and the EU.”

We find a huge number of terrible, over-emotional cries of “well, that’s all - now is not the time, ladies, to argue when tears are choking, we don’t reflect, we spread,” but we finally get to the bottom of the original.

The truth is that something a little different is postulated there.

Moreover, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) confirmed to the AJOT that the U.S. surpassed Russia as the top temperate hardwood exporter to China.

Stupid situation. Those who repost this stuff, calling themselves “we are the elite, universal owners of over 160, fluent speakers of several European languages and experts in 50 shades of Parmesan and brands of other people’s watches” - they either massively reposted a stupid mistake in translation, or are deliberately lying (surprisingly, this has never happened it was, really?). Because the news is about the fact that the United States has surpassed the Russian Federation in timber exports to China. At the same time, the United States has fewer forests than Russia, the rate of deforestation is higher, and sales to China are higher. It turns out that the news about the fact that the United States is a sawmill country and an economy based on the export of raw materials is about the United States. Wherein The USA also dumps - the average price per cubic meter of timber in the USA is lower than in the Russian Federation.

By the way, this is Sweden

Separately, about the introductory phrase “China has come out,” pushing the reader to the conclusion “That is, under this government, but it wasn’t like that before.” This is also a lie - the rate of deforestation in the Russian Federation over the past 10 years has decreased significantly, as well as timber exports - and is now much lower than Soviet levels. The conclusion to “... well, we understand WHERE China got all that wood, thanks to which it increased its exports,” is therefore also false. However, it is apparently for this reason that the picture is being distributed - including paid promotion in expensive VK public pages, which charge 30-50 thousand rubles for publication and do not make free reposts at all.

The second thesis in the text is “deforestation is prohibited in China.” I can’t even find where this came from. In China, as elsewhere in the world, forests cannot be cut down in nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, but in forests it is possible, you just need to get permission. Just like all over the world. The very thesis about “China lives on imported timber and lumber” is a little outlandish, because those who believe in it must somehow figure out how a country of 1.4 billion people lives in the “all lumber is imported” scenario. There is an opinion that this is technically impossible.

But, of course, all these boring logical things cannot outweigh the emotionally sobbing presentation “by the way, all the sticks in China have been made from Christmas trees near Moscow for 20 years” and “only the most expensive wood, cedars and pines of Siberia are used for Chinese sticks.” Those who wish can plan sticks from coniferous species wood and try to eat something with them. I'm sure you'll like it.

Upgrading the image “ Siberian cedars cut down” exploits a fairly common template about “Real Siberia”, where everything is natural and healthy - there is even a whole sect with that name, very popular among women of Balzac’s age. That you need to go into the forest, smear yourself with cedar, eat cedar, drink cedar, breathe cedar, and everything will be cedar. On the covers of such books, everything is usually homespun and features a blonde porn model in a kokoshnik, who only saw Siberia from the business jet that took her to work in Dubai. A completely standard approach to pumping up emotions in order to turn off reason and logic.

The final line in the picture is also indicative - this is a common meme needed to “signal” how to treat the entire text. The target audience of such stuffing is stupid and really doesn’t like to think - but likes to react quickly (as they teach computer games and social networks). “Don’t reflect, spread it” - that’s the point.

It’s a little funny, of course, that the local super-democratic “orange” president, who got into a stupid story because of unsuccessful plastic surgery in Austria, spoke loudest in Ukraine about getting up from his knees.

The Chinese are selling us our water from our Baikal

The story is quite old, “The Chinese are buying out Baikal” - I heard this when I was a schoolboy. The beginning of the 2000s. Now the converted fake looks like this:

The actualization of this archaic meme in the mass consciousness began somewhere during the failed “white tape revolution” (this, of course, is just a coincidence). Here is the year 2014 - “Putin sold Baikal water to China”, here is 2015 - “Shallow Baikal: the Chinese will pump out water”, Well frame article with a set of all conceivable fakes for 2011.

The meaning of updating the meme is clear - on the old yeast about “China is seizing Siberia” add a new addition “... because Putin personally ordered it, so the country is selling out.”

Let's find out what's really hidden behind this picture.

The essence of the fake is clear - a bottle with Russian letters, hieroglyphs, and the word “Baikal” should prove that all of Baikal was sold to the Chinese. No more, no less, just like that.

According to the letters on the container - Long Cai Bing Hai - we find exactly one enterprise with that name. This is the company “LUNTSAIBINKHAI”, operating in the Russian Federation. There are no more such companies, the error is excluded.

This company sells two brands of water on the Chinese market - half-liter LONG CAI BING HAI and five-liter YISIBEIER.

Products are positioned for the “upper” segment of the market - well, as it should be for “Northern, foreign, from the country of big white people, and therefore healthy” - like imported honey “which will make children tall”, like flour from Russian wheat, like and red fish. These are Hi-End positions, something like “Gluten-free French mineral water in pink bottles for successful women” in Moscow gyms. Here is the owner's interview with Chinese television, it was made in Beijing, i.e. capital exhibition of “eco-friendly products”.

But the base legal documents about this company gives us the most interesting information about what is going on in general.

All products are exported to China. Raw materials (water) for production are purchased by the company from OJSC “Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill” on the basis of a cold water supply agreement dated No. UEB-02188. In violation of the requirements of Part 1 4.7, 4.8 art. 4 of the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union TR No. withdrawn “Food products in terms of their labeling”, adopted by decision Commission of the Customs Union from Date withdrawn Number withdrawn, on a 0.5 liter bottle. There is no information in Russian about the shelf life of products on the label of 0.5 liter bottles. and 5 l. The name and location of the manufacturer are not indicated. In violation of paragraphs. 1.2, 5.3 SanPiN 2.Date withdrawn -02 “ Drinking water. Hygienic requirements for the quality of water packaged in containers. Quality control”, approved by the resolution of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation dated Date withdrawn Number withdrawn, production control The quality of source water (raw materials) from a water body (Lake Baikal - water source) is not monitored by the company.

Based on scientific data, without damaging the Baikal ecosystem, up to 400 million tons of water can be extracted per year - this amounts to 0.5% of the lake’s water balance. Compare this with one hundred thousand cubic meters and the thesis “Baikal is shrinking before our eyes - thanks to Putin.” The Chinese take less per year, and bottle it in very conditionally sanitary conditions. than the pulp and paper mill spoils water per day. Taking away much less in a year than a spring flood in a day.

However, Russian manufacturers there is also water from Lake Baikal, which officially sells it on the retail market of the Russian Federation. And they even film commercials for China, also wanting to enter this market. Only these are Russian manufacturers whose products comply Russian standards qualities that are tougher than Chinese ones, and it can be purchased. Yes, it is more expensive than the mass brands bottled by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola in the Moscow region - but this is quite logical. Why don't they write anything about them? Oh yes, because from this it will not be possible to conclude that “Putin sold Baikal to China.”

Result

A Russian commercial company connected to the water intake of a pulp and paper mill. The volume of water taken is less than the measurement error and, in principle, cannot affect the level of Lake Baikal, the flow part of the water balance of which is orders of magnitude greater. Water from the pulp and paper mill's water intake is bottled and transported to China as a Siberian exclusive for successful Chinese. They don’t sell it in Russia, because... Such water will not pass SanPin, and no one will pay so much to actually transport water from Lake Baikal to European part the country has become profitable.

Confirmed data, the entire forestry business in Siberia belongs to China!

This stuff is also more than 20 years old - about “secret Chinese cities with a million population in the taiga, where Russian authorities do not operate” and other things like “in fact, Yeltsin has already given the Far East to China” was said back in the early 2000s. But now the inconvenient things about Yeltsin are being removed and the stuff is being urgently reclassified, based on the memory of “yes, yes, that’s right, they talked about something like that a long time ago”:

Let’s go through the text, wading through the characteristic “tearful-hysterical” presentation of the format “Lord, ladies, what can be done - just burst into tears and, wringing your hands, you can only moan sorrowfully - alas.” This submission certainly shows that the target audience- the same Internet infantiles with woman-consciousness and emotions ahead of reason as, for example, in the news about the high-tech breakthroughs of the Light Ones Western Countries- where everything is also emotional, “They did IT again. They created a miracle, which we look at with trembling, sobbing with happiness to be involved in this, there is no time to think, we get emotional, enjoying the trembling of our emotions.”

The volume of timber harvested per year at 1 million cubic meters is not huge numbers, but zilch.

We take data for one of the last USSR years, 1981, for which there is information on exports for other countries, and we see that the USSR exports 358.2 million cubic meters per year. USA in the same year - 411 million. The Irkutsk region alone produced up to 18 million cubic meters in 1981. “Huge figures” of logging as much as a million cubic meters from the largest company in Russia mean that since the times of the USSR, the rate of logging has decreased wildly.

Secondly, we began to literally tear apart information about this company and here is what information we have: in 2018, the largest part of the shares passed into the hands of the PRC. The owner of the share is GREAT GAINING LIMITED from Hong Kong.

The authorized capital on both sides is billions of rubles.

“They began to literally tear apart information” - this is a good emotional moment for the reader to understand that the Authorities are Hiding, but Caring People Got to the Truth.

This turnover is hidden behind the usual googling of the company name. You can do this too, I will help with a link in Russian.

This is a place of mass registration; a carriage of nominal companies is registered at this address. These are offshore companies to reduce taxes.

Those. The man, without any hesitation, deduces from the fact “The Russian company, in the interests of a specific Russian owner, reduces its tax contributions to the state” that “Putin is selling out Russia.” Great. A holy suffering businessman and a bad government embezzler, how sweet and familiar it is.

Outright lies are also contained in “The authorized capital on both sides is billions of rubles.” GREAT GAINING LIMITED has a Hong Kong minimum authorized capital in 10,000 HKD (this is just over 70 thousand rubles), i.e. This is an absolute “filler” that performs no function other than reducing taxation. And for whom, really for Putin? We look - and it is owned, through par value, by someone TOLOKEVICH L - and lo and behold, the owner of TSLC is Leonid Ivanovich Tolokevich. What an amazing coincidence, how cleverly these Chinese disguised themselves!

The author’s manipulation with offshore companies is quite primitive and shows that the final conclusions are tailored to a clearly formulated task. The author takes the fact that large companies use offshore companies to reduce taxation - and they do this all over the world, but the author leads to the false “... only in this Country”, then selects Hong Kong offshore companies - discarding the fact that the leadership in this part and the maximum percentage is still in Crete and Malta (it’s simply cheaper and simpler there), and writes the conclusion - “Everything was sold to the Chinese, Putin sold it to the Chinese, so they sold everything, so Putin is selling everything.” Normal course, the audience sobs, there is silence in the brain, we get emotional. After all, they didn’t pay for “Private owners withdraw money through Malta.” The mention “The largest financial flow is through offshore companies in the BVI, and this is the UK” - was not paid for. They paid for the thesis about China, and they are pushing it.

Now that we’ve sorted this out, what other “arguments” are left for the thesis about “Everything belongs to China”?

Let's go through the legal entities mentioned in the text.

TSLK

“The most big company in the country” has been in a state of liquidation since 2016. Those. a posting from June 2018 postulating “This company was given rights to cut down huge volumes, it’s about to start” is a lie.

Shay Thai LLC

The director is one Tai She. Liquidated in May 2018. Yes, and she had nothing to do with deforestation - her activities were “Retail trade in hardware, paint and varnish materials and glass in specialized stores" The author is deliberately lying and added this hastily googled company because of the Chinese owner, in order to create the illusion of mass participation. Gina LLC

In the text:

Another Chinese businessman with a similar name, Li Jian Jun, in the Republic of Buryatia owns the company Gina LLC, whose main activity is trading in lumber.

There is Gina LLC from Buryatia, exactly one. To enhance the effect, the author lies that the owner is Chinese; in reality there are three owners, one of them is Russian. And the company Gina LLC does not have a license for timber extraction, its licensed type of activity is “Exploration and extraction of mineral resources, including the use of waste from mining and related processing industries.” Author i.e. again, I found anything, the main thing is that the keywords “China” and “Siberia” were there, but I missed - Gina LLC cannot cut down the forest.

EKSWOOD LLC and Kristall LLC, mentioned nearby in the text, were closed in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Other companies mentioned in the context of “Owned by Li Jian Jun” are engaged in construction, i.e. erect buildings and structures in Transbaikalia. Those. about “All these companies export timber to China” is a lie.

LLC “Business center on the mountain”

This is really legal. the face of the business center, it is not engaged in either the production of lumber or their processing. The author again found “anything, the main thing is that the Chinese surnames shine.”

The list can be continued for a long time, the essence is simple - the author once went into the database of legal entities and simply wrote down companies owned by people with Chinese full names. And from this it is deduced “... which means there are simply no other companies, which means everything belongs to them.” Obviously, this is not just manipulation, but outright lies and fulfillment of the order.

Result

In the hyper-emotional text of Pavel P. - the author of a website about himself named after himself, where in the right column his quotes about himself are displayed, as well as making money on this topic, monetizing the emotions of people who find it easier to react to tearful lies than to think - everyone is false thesis. From “Here is a Hong Kong offshore company - which means that all of Siberia has been sold by Putin to China” to “Here are several companies whose owners are Chinese - even though the companies are engaged in different types activities, but all this shows that Putin sold Siberia to China.”

Pavel P. could not confirm in any way that “in Western and Eastern Siberia, I officially announce that almost the entire forestry business belongs to the PRC,” and also repeatedly fell for obvious lies - that TSLK LLC, for example, is the largest timber processing company in Russia. In fact, there are completely open sources, the same top 50 rating of the oldest magazine “Forest Industry”, or the rating of the National Forestry Agency, which lists the real largest timber processing companies in Russia. With a truly huge fleet of equipment, number of personnel, and other indicators obvious for a large business. But he could neither confirm nor indicate sources of reliable information.

The moment of hasty preparation of material for publication is also quite interesting:

May of this year, i.e. a month ago.

A person urgently searches for any material on a given topic. Those. the topic is already there, and the wording has already been approved - the author collects any material so that everything is exactly as the customers approved it. It is in this order, and not vice versa - that is, not “I went and this is what I saw,” but “I need to go, and so that there is definitely material from there with the right accent - send me one.”

A person is panickingly looking for any proof, even fake ones.- Moreover, we “guarantee confidentiality” (!!!). Why is this, sorry, if we are talking about the fact that “Putin officially transferred territories to China”? In this case, you just need to come and record it. Well, if it’s on a huge scale and everything is official. The same coordinates of clearings - of which, according to the author, there are darkness. Which “the author, constantly traveling, has been seeing for years.” Or... is all this just fiction on a given topic?

It turns out that the author - unemployed, I note - has already been paid for the expedition, he already knows when and where he is going, and what he will see there - but he has zero proofs and he asks for them from subscribers. To then “bring” these videos and postings collected online, like “I went and SAW IT PERSONALLY.” Wonderful.

Putin's answer: ABOUT THE DISPUTED TERRITORIES OF RUSSIA AND CHINA! | (2016)

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The sharp rapprochement between Russia and China increases the chances of implementing a project to transfer Baikal water to the northern regions of this country. The development of such a project by Chinese scientists was reported by the British The Guardian. Russia sees economic benefits from such cooperation, but there are also political risks, experts say.

According to the publication, we are talking about laying a pipeline over one thousand kilometers long from the southwestern tip of Lake Baikal, through the territory of Mongolia, the Gobi Desert to the city of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province. The authors of the project are specialists from the Institute of Urban and Rural Planning from Lanzhou.

Water pumping technology “is not a problem,” the media writes, and the success of the idea now depends on politicians. “Once the technical issues are resolved, diplomats should get together and talk about how each side could benefit from such international cooperation,” said the leader of the development team, academic Li Luoli.

According to Chinese representatives, both sides will benefit from the project. China will be able to solve the problem of water scarcity. With 20% of the world's population, it has only 7% of its water reserves. So, in Gansu province, where the pipeline is supposed to be laid, last year Only 380 mm of precipitation fell. In turn, for Russia, the export of Baikal water will become a source of stable financing for the development of Siberia.

Note that Russian authorities They have been talking for a long time and with lust about the possibility of trading the country's water resources. In 2015, the head of Buryatia Alexander Nagovitsin proposed to sell bottled Baikal water “at a price higher than gasoline.” In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation announced its readiness to pump “surplus” water from the Altai Territory to China. It is this fact that experts from Lanzhou now refer to as a precedent.

As explained by the main developer of another Chinese project— “The turning of Chinese rivers from south to north” Shi Weixin, the weak points of the Baikal pipeline are environmental consequences for the lake, as well as transporting water in winter. In addition, there is a moral factor. Thus, every fifth resident of Russia (19%) considers Lake Baikal business card Russia and this is the second most popular answer after the Kremlin (36%).

Deputy Director of the Institute Far East RAS Andrey Ostrovsky confirmed that China's needs for water resources are very high, and importing water is one way to overcome the situation.

— From the point of view of water supply, China is divided into two parts: the northern and northeastern parts, and the rest of the country. It is no coincidence that they are implementing a project to transfer water from south to north. There is excess water in the areas south of the Yangtze River. We are talking about the province of Sichuan, near Tibet, where the sources of the largest rivers are located: the Yangtze, Yellow River, Brahmaputra, Mekong, etc. And in the north there is barely enough for household and industrial needs. The issue of water supply is especially acute in major cities, primarily in Beijing, where there are no large rivers.

There are theoretically two ways to solve the water problem. Internal sources are just the transfer of rivers and the import of water from outside. But so far, water is not included in China’s import structure.

"SP": - Apparently, it will appear soon, since we are talking about the transfer of Baikal water...

— This topic has been discussed for a long time. There is even an old Chinese joke about how the construction of a pipeline from Lake Baikal has been endlessly delayed. In general, this is a very expensive and labor-intensive project. Although the Chinese are known for their large-scale hydraulic structures. Even before our era, the Grand Canal was built - from Beijing to Hangzhou. By the way, it is still partially in effect today.

Explorer of Lake Baikal, member of the Russian Geographical Society Leonid Kolotilo proposed to evaluate the possibility of drawing water from Lake Baikal by solving a simple arithmetic problem.

— To assess the consequences of water intake, you must first know the expected capacity of the pipeline. The number of cubic meters of water per second that will flow through the pipeline must be compared with the amount of water leaving Baikal through the Angara ( Angara is the only river flowing from the lake - author.). For Angara this is about 1800 tons of water per second. In addition, it is necessary to take into account seasonal fluctuations and fluctuations over several years. It's like the school problem about the swimming pool. First, the mechanics of the process are calculated. And only then ecologists will have to calculate more subtle things. After all, any ecosystem has sustainability parameters.

Director of the Limnological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Grachev does not see in water selection big problem.

— You must understand that from Baikal to Northern Arctic Ocean and so 60 cubic kilometers of water flow out every year. To convert to liters you need to add twelve more zeros. This is a huge number. You can get a lot of people drunk.

However, what really causes concern is that there is no treatment facilities, sewerage, etc. At first glance, this is not very scary. Baikal is huge. Even if all the people on Earth were drowned in Lake Baikal, its level would increase by only three centimeters. But now, we see that it is beginning on the lake environmental crisis. An algae, spirogyra, which is not typical for the lake, has grown here. In addition, Baikal sponges are sick, and new bacteria have appeared. The state has just begun to turn to the topic of actually saving Lake Baikal.

“SP”: — So the environmental hazard is more important than the selection of water for the pipeline to China?

— I don’t understand why to China. We also have a colossal water shortage in the Chita region. Or, for example, in Central Asia. Let engineers and politicians decide where to supply. There is a problem in the Chinese direction - you will have to drive water through the mountains, where there is permafrost. Apparently, the pipes will have to be heated with electricity. All this still needs to be discussed.

Employee of the Baikal Interactive Ecological Center Maxim Vorontsov fears both the environmental consequences of laying the pipeline and in general high activity China in the Baikal direction.

— Information about such projects appears from time to time. But so far, thank God, things have not gone beyond statements of intentions. In addition to the diplomatic procedures and technical difficulties of laying such a long pipeline through the hills of Transbaikalia and Mongolia, one must also take into account the environmental consequences and economic profitability.

The fact is that after long transportation, Baikal water will lose its unique qualities. There will be simply industrial water, suitable for irrigating fields, but not for use as drinking water. Considering the cost of building and maintaining the pipeline, water may be too expensive.

“SP”: — What could be the environmental consequences for the area through which the pipeline will pass?

— From an environmental point of view, it is necessary to take into account the damage to the taiga and the coast of Lake Baikal from the construction of the pipeline: cutting down glades, laying roads and electrical networks, building housing, etc.

Baikal is very large and it will be difficult even for the Chinese to pump it out through a pipe. But we must not forget about the water level in Lake Baikal. If you take a layer of water 1 cm thick from the entire surface of Lake Baikal, you will get more than 3 million tons. Is it a lot or a little? We have to see what it will be like throughput pipeline. IN last years Chinese business is actively looking at Lake Baikal. Both as a tourist site and as a resource - water, gas, minerals, land. China has its own vision for the development of this territory. But, does Russia have its own vision?

Head of the socio-political movement " New Russia» Nikita Isaev hopes that Russian politicians will refrain from the Baikal project with China, since Beijing’s focus on Russian Natural resources is becoming more and more obvious.

“I believe that Russia will be very cautious about any projects of deep integration with China, since during three years of the “pivot to the East” we have not received clear economic and political bonuses from Beijing that could compensate for the partial abandonment of the Western vector in politics. We counted not only on the sale of gas through the Power of Siberia and Chinese investments in this project, but also on the significant use of Chinese financial resources without attempts to influence economic and political processes in Russia.

In fact, all Chinese investments are aimed only at pumping out our resources. For example, in the timber industry in border regions. But Beijing did not participate in the construction of a bridge across the Lena for political reasons. When the sale of a 19 percent stake in Rosneft was discussed, China hoped to receive special rights in the management of our company. There are other examples. The same can be expected in the case of the Baikal project. Of course, China is interested in receiving Russian water, but the benefits to Russia are not so obvious.

Russia sold Baikal to China. The water of the world's largest fresh lake will be pumped to China via a pipeline.

to lay a pipe, only 380 mm of precipitation fell last year.

Let us note that the Russian authorities have long been talking with lust about the possibility of trading the country’s water resources. In 2015, the head of Buryatia, Alexander Nagovitsin, proposed selling bottled Baikal water “at a price higher than gasoline.” In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation announced its readiness to pump “surplus” water from the Altai Territory to China. It is this fact that experts from Lanzhou now refer to as a precedent.

As explained by the chief developer of another Chinese project, “Turning Chinese Rivers from South to North,” Shi Weixin, the weak points of the Baikal pipeline are the environmental consequences for the lake, as well as the transportation of water in winter. In addition, there is a moral factor. Thus, every fifth resident of Russia (19%) considers Lake Baikal to be the calling card of Russia and this is the second most popular answer after the Kremlin (36%).

Deputy Director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrei Ostrovsky confirmed that China's needs for water resources are very high, and importing water is one of the ways to overcome the situation.

— From the point of view of water supply, China is divided into two parts: the northern and northeastern parts, and the rest of the country. It is no coincidence that they are implementing a project to transfer water from south to north. There is excess water in the areas south of the Yangtze River. We are talking about the province of Sichuan, near Tibet, where the sources of the largest rivers are located: the Yangtze, Yellow River, Brahmaputra, Mekong, etc. And in the north there is barely enough for household and industrial needs. The issue of water supply is especially acute in large cities, primarily in Beijing, where there are no large rivers.

In turn, the Putin regime has long dreamed of making money from the sale of fresh water. At the same time, Russians are being fooled by promising that the money will supposedly be used “for the development of Siberia.” The only question is who will own the lands that are planned to be developed. All the same Chinese.

Let us recall that in 2015, the Chinese company Huae Xinban, which is located in Zhejiang province, signed an agreement with the Putin administration of the Trans-Baikal Territory to lease 115 thousand hectares of land for 49 years. The Chinese will grow rice and other agricultural products there, naturally for their own needs.

After the signing of the agreement, worth only 28 million dollars, there was massive deforestation, which was completely exported to China. The felling continues.

In addition, the Chinese are demanding a share in Rosneft, which pumps oil in Siberia. China wants special rights in the management of this oil company.

In addition, according to local sources, the Kremlin gave the go-ahead to Chinese specialists for an intensive study of Siberia. The Chinese choose new territories “to rent” for decades and decades.